CONLIT Lesson 2 PDF

LESSON 2: Types and Elements of Fiction At the end of the lesson, the students should be able to: a. Explain the characteristics, types and elements of fiction; and b. Interpret and evaluate fiction. ELEMENTS OF FICTION Conflict: a clash of actions, ideas, desires, or will. Man vs. Hi...

LESSON 2: Types and Elements of Fiction At the end of the lesson, the students should be able to: a. Explain the characteristics, types and elements of fiction; and b. Interpret and evaluate fiction. ELEMENTS OF FICTION Conflict: a clash of actions, ideas, desires, or will. Man vs. Himself Man vs. Man Man vs. External Force (physical nature, society, or “fate”) Man vs. Nature (environment) Protagonist: central character in a conflict, sympathetic or unsympathetic Antagonist: any force against protagonist Suspense Mystery: an unusual set of circumstances for which the reader craves an explanation Dilemma: a position in which he or she must choose between two courses of action, both undesirable Ending Is it logical within the story’s own terms and does it afford a full, believable revelation? Surprise Ending: a sudden, unexpected turn or twist, and furnishes meaningful illumination, not just a reversal of expectation Happy Ending: more common in commercial fiction. Unhappy Ending: more common in literary fiction because it more closely mirrors real life and forces readers to contemplate the complexities of life. Indeterminate Ending: no definitive conclusion is reached, but need not be in terms of a resolved conflict. Artistic Unity There must be nothing in the story that is irrelevant. Nothing that does not advance the central intention of the story. Plot Manipulation: unjustified turn in the plot by the situation or the characters. Deus ex machina: Latin for “god from a machine”—the protagonist is rescued at the last moment from some impossible situation by a god descending from heaven. Chance: the occurrence of an event that has no apparent cause in previous events or in predisposition of character. Coincidence: the chance occurrence of two events that may have a peculiar correspondence. Consider the function of plot in trying to understand the relationship of each incident to the larger meaning of the story. Example: focus on its central conflict or examine the way incidents and scenes are connected as a way of testing the story’s plausibility and unity. Characterization Direct Presentation: readers are told straight out what the characters are like, or they have another character in the story describe them. Little emotional impact Indirect Presentation: the author shows us the characters through their actions; we determine what they are like by what they say or do. In good fiction, characters are dramatized. Principles of Characterization 1. Characters are consistent in their behavior unless there is a clear reason for the change 2. Character’s words and actions spring from motivations the reader can understand and believe 3. Characters must be plausible or lifelike, not perfectly virtuous or monsters of evil; nor can they have some impossible combination of contradictory traits. The character could have existed, so we have the illusion the person is real. Flat Characters: usually have only one or two predominant traits; they can be summed up in a sentence or two. Round Characters: complex and many sided; they have the three- dimensional quality of real people. Stock Characters: type of flat character; stereotyped figures who have recurred so often in fiction that we recognize them at once: silent sheriff, mad scientist, brilliant detective.  Static Character: does not change during the story. Dynamic Character: (developing) undergoes distinct change of character, personality, or outlook. Usually experiences an epiphany which is a moment of spiritual insight into life or into the character’s own circumstance. This epiphany usually defines the moment of the dynamic character’s change. Theme The controlling idea or central insight The unifying generalization about life stated or implied by the story Gives the story its unity What view of life does the author want readers to support? The theme should be expressible in the form of a statement with a subject and a predicate. NOT JUST “motherhood” or “loyalty” Theme must be a statement about the subject. The theme should be stated as a generalization about life. It is the central and unifying concept of a story. There is not one way of stating the theme of a story. Avoid reducing the theme to some familiar saying that we have heard all our lives: “You can’t judge a book by its cover.” Example: Motherhood sometimes has more frustrations than rewards. Loyalty to country often inspires heroic self-sacrifice. This is a great thesis written by one of my students: Frankenstein is a prime example of English Romanticism because of the way that Shelley portrays the importance of good parenting through traits of romantic literature. Shelley emphasizes the individual, portrays man’s love of nature, and values emotion over reason to contribute to the theme’s idea that the role of parents is vital to raising responsible offspring. This is a “not so great” thesis... Frankenstein is an example of English Romanticist fiction because Mary Shelley uses Nature, Individualism, and Freedom to contribute to the Romantics view of Nature. Point of View Who tells the story and how much do they know about the thoughts of the characters? Omniscient: the story is told in first person by a narrator whose knowledge and prerogatives are unlimited. Third Person Limited: from the viewpoint of one character in the story. No knowledge of what other characters are thinking or feeling. First Person: the author disappears into one of the characters, who tells the story in the first person. This may be either a minor or major character, protagonist, or observer, and it will make a considerable difference whether the protagonist tells the story or someone else tells it. Shares the limitations of the third-person limited point of view. Objective Point of View: (dramatic POV) the narrator disappears into a kind of roving sound camera. This camera can go anywhere but can record only what is seen and heard. It cannot comment, interpret, or enter a character’s mind. Symbol: something that means more than what it suggests on the surface. It may be an object, person, situation, action or other elements. Name Symbolism: Adam, Phoenix Object Symbolism: flag, wedding ring, red, quilts Action Symbolism: journey Setting Symbolism: landscape, railway station Clues for identifying symbols: The story itself must furnish a clue that a detail is to be taken symbolically usually by emphasis, repetition, or position. The meaning of the literary symbol must be established and supported by the entire context of the story. A symbol may have more than one meaning—a cluster of meanings. 1. Allegory: a story that has a second meaning beneath the surface adding significance. 2. Fantasy: nonrealistic story and transcends the bounds of known reality. 3. Humor: appears in the many serious works, usually conveyed through irony 4. Irony: a technique used to convey a truth about human experience by exposing some incongruity of a character’s behavior or a society’s traditions. Irony helps to critique the world in which we live by laughing at the many varieties of human eccentricity and folly. Both evoke responses that are intellectual and emotional at once. Verbal Irony: simplest kind, sarcasm, word play Dramatic Irony: the contrast between what a character says or thinks and what the reader knows to be true. Situational Irony: the discrepancy is between appearance and reality, expectation and fulfillment, or what is and what would seem appropriate “Miss Caroline told me to tell my father not to teach me anymore, it would interfere with my reading.” –To Kill a Mockingbird Sentimentality: contrived or excessive emotion Uncle Tom’s Cabin vs. Beloved Editorialize: Sentimental writers often try to make words do what the situation faithfully presented by itself will not do. They comment on the story and, in a manner, instruct us how to feel. Or they overwrite and poeticize–use an immoderately heightened and distended language to accomplish their effects. Also, they excessively use detail which all point one way, toward producing emotion rather than conveying truth. Dying child always happy, never moody or crying. 5. Style – The author’s type of diction (choice of words), syntax (arrangement of words), and other linguistic features of a work. 6. Theme(s) – The central and dominating idea (or ideas) in a literary work. The term also indicates a message or moral implicit in any work of art. Exploring the Different Types of Fiction By Sarah Parsons Zackheim, Adrian Zackheim Fiction is a general term used to describe an imaginative work of prose, either a novel, short story, or novella. Recently, this definition has been modified to include both nonfiction works that contain imaginative elements, like Midnight in the Garden Of Good and Evil by John Berendt (Random House, 1994) and Dutch by Edmund Morris (Random House, 1999), and novels consisting largely of factual reporting with a patina of fictionalization, such as Memoirs of a Geisha by Arthur Golden (Knopf, 1997). However, in the truest sense, a work of fiction is a creation of the writer’s imagination. The two main types of fiction are literary and commercial.  Commercial fiction attracts a broad audience and may also fall into any subgenre, like mystery, romance, legal thriller, western, science fiction, and so on. For example, The Bridges of Madison County by Robert James Waller (Warner, 1992) was a hugely successful commercial novel because the book described the fulfillment of a romantic fantasy that is dear to the heart of millions of readers. Written in a short, easy- to-read style, the book was as mesmerizing to 15-year-olds as it was to 100-year-olds. Other blockbuster commercial fiction authors include John Grisham, Sidney Sheldon, Danielle Steele, and Jackie Collins. Literary fiction tends to appeal to a smaller, more intellectually adventurous audience. A work of literary fiction can fall into any of the subgenres described in the following sections. What sets literary fiction apart, however, is the notable qualities it contains — excellent writing, originality of thought, and style — that raise it above the level of ordinary written works. A recent work of literary fiction that enjoyed wide popularity was Cold Mountain by Charles Frazier (Atlantic Monthly Press, 1997). Other popular authors of literary fiction include Toni Morrision, Barbara Kingsolver, John LeCarre, and Saul Bellow. Mainstream fiction is a general term publishers and booksellers use to describe both commercial and literary works that depict a daily reality familiar to most people. These books, usually set in the 20th or present-day 21st century, have at their core a universal theme that attracts a broad audience. Mainstream books deal with such myriad topics as family issues, coming of age initiations, courtroom dramas, career matters, physical and mental disabilities, social pressures, political intrigue, and more. Regardless of original genre or category, most of the novels that appear on the bestseller list are considered mainstream, whether the author is Sue Grafton, Arundhati Roy, Michael Crichton, or David Guterson. Mystery Mystery is a popular genre, boasting a huge established audience. All mysteries focus on a crime, usually murder. The action tends to center on the attempts of a wily detective-type to solve the crime. And the climax usually occurs near the end, in a leisurely setting where all the elements of the mystery are neatly assembled for the reader’s convenience. The solution, complete with surprises, is then delivered to the characters and the reader alike. Mystery subgenres include spy, detective, and crime stories. You can find a vast network of mystery writers associations, conventions, and conferences, as well as publications to help mystery writers pursue their craft. For information, contact Mystery Writers of America. Great practitioners in this genre include Arthur Conan Doyle, Raymond Chandler, Dashiell Hammett, and Earle Stanley Gardner, creator of Perry Mason. Present day giants include Carl Hiaason, James Ellroy, Robert Parker, James Lee Burke, and Elmore Leonard. Romance Romance is a huge category aimed at diverting and entertaining women. In romance novels, you have elements of fantasy, love, naïveté, extravagance, adventure, and always the heroic lover overcoming impossible odds to be with his true love. Many romances, especially the gothic romance, have an easy-to-follow formula — a young, inexperienced girl living a somewhat remote existence is courted or threatened by an evil man and then rescued by a valiant one. Other subgenres include historical, contemporary, fantasy romance, and romantic suspense. If historical detail and settings interest you, try writing a regency or historical romance. If you enjoy a dash of mystery or intrigue, then romantic suspense novels are for you. However, if you’re interested in more modern stories with sexual candor, then consider writing a contemporary romance. Certainly, you have lots of opportunity in the field of romance writing, which is the largest, most diverse, and most popular of the commercial genres. And romance writers’ organizations can provide exact writing guidelines. To receive a set of guidelines, contact Romance Writers of America. First-class romance writers include Jude Deveraux, Victoria Holt, Judith McNaught, Daphne Du Maurier, Jennifer Greene, and Nora Roberts. Women’s fiction It’s common knowledge in the publishing industry that women constitute the biggest book-buying segment. So, it’s certainly no accident that most mainstream as well as genre fiction is popular among women. For that reason, publishers and booksellers have identified a category within the mainstream that they classify as Women’s Fiction. And its no surprise that virtually all the selections of Oprah’s Book Club are in this genre. From a writer’s perspective, some key characteristics of these books include a focus on relationships, one or more strong female protagonists, women triumphing over unbearable circumstances, and the experiences of women unified in some way. The field includes such diverse writers as Barbara Taylor Bradford, Anne Rivers Siddons, Alice McDermott, Judith Krantz, Anne Tyler, Rebecca Wells, and Alice Hoffman. Science fiction/fantasy Science fiction/fantasy novels depict distant worlds and futuristic technologies that whirl readers far away from the here and now and yet provoke contemplation of contemporary issues. Imaginative, thoughtful, and other-worldly, this robust category is made even more popular by the Star Wars and Star Trek series. Leading science fiction and fantasy writers include Ray Bradbury, Arthur Clarke, Isaac Asimov, C.S. Lewis, and J.R.R. Tolkien, as well as the current, multi-best-selling, young adult author J.K. Rowling. Suspense/thriller Suspense novels and thrillers are tense, exciting, often sensational works with ingenious plotting, swift action, and continuous suspense. In this genre, a writer’s objective is to deliver a story with sustained tension, surprise, and a constant sense of impending doom that propels the reader forward. Unlike mysteries, thrillers are dominated by action in which physical threat is a constant companion, and a hero (James Bond, for example) is pitted against a nefarious villain. This genre includes the great espionage writers, including John Le Carre, Len Deighton, Ian Fleming, Clive Cussler, and Frederick Forsythe. It also includes the police procedurals of Patricia Cornwell, Tony Hillerman, and Lawrence Sanders, as well as the courtroom bestsellers of Scott Turow, Richard North Patterson, Steve Martini, and John Grisham, and the military thrillers of Tom Clancy and Stephen Koontz. Western Known simply as westerns, these novels about life on America’s post-Civil War western frontier usually involve conflicts between cowboys and outlaws, cowboys and Native Americans, or Easterners and Westerners. While this category still has a mass- market audience and a thriving regional market, it’s not the popular genre it was 25 years ago. Zane Grey and Louis Lamour, both deceased, are still among the popular western writers. Horror Filled with gut-wrenching fear, this popular genre keeps readers turning the blood-filled pages. From a writer’s perspective, the defining characteristic is the intention to frighten readers by exploiting their fears, both conscious and subconscious: fears of supernatural forces, alien visitations, madness, death, dismemberment, and other terrifying notions. Tracing its roots back to the classic tales of Edgar Allan Poe, the horror genre today is dominated by Stephen King, whose vast output of bestsellers under his name as well as his alter-ego Richard Bachman has dominated the bestseller lists for nearly 25 years. Other major horror writers include Mary Shelley, Roald Dahl, Clive Barker, Peter Straub, Dean Koontz, and Anne Rice. While horror isn’t science fiction, the SFWA provides a great deal of information and community services aimed at horror writers. To obtain its professional assistance, contact the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America. Young adult This genre includes any type of novel with a protagonist in the 12 to 16 age range that speaks to the concerns of teenagers. Currently, J.K. Rowling and her amazing Harry Potter (Scholastic Press) books are dominating the field. Rowling’s accomplishment — a truly universal story, brimming with magic and fantasy as well as likable characters that readers identify with — is an amazing feat. Success stories in this genre share many of the qualities evident in the Harry Potter books: a memorable voice (J.D. Salinger’s Catcher in the Rye, Little Brown, 1951), believable characters (Golding’s Lord of the Flies, Perigee, 1959), and a willingness to write about the disturbing subjects that preoccupy teens and preteens (Are You There God, It’s Me, Margaret by Judy Blume, Dell Yearling, 1972, or Holes by Louis Sachar, FSG, 1998). ….. EXERCISES! ACTIVITY 2.1 Direction: Group with 5 members and discuss within the group the story of “Silence - A Fable” by Edgar Allan Poe (published 1838). Interpret and evaluate the story and present it. Ours is a world of words: Quiet we call Silence -- which is the merest word of all" -Al Aaraaf. "Listen to me," said the Demon, as he placed his hand upon my head. "There is a spot upon this accursed earth which thou hast never yet beheld And if by any chance thou hast beheld it, it must have been in one of those vigorous dreams which come like the Simoon upon the brain of the sleeper who hath lain down to sleep among the forbidden sunbeams --among the sunbeams, I say, which slide from off the solemn columns of the melancholy temples in the wilderness. The region of which I speak is a dreary region in Libya, by the borders of the river Zaire. And there is no quiet there, nor silence. "The waters of the river have a saffron and sickly hue --and they flow not onwards to the sea, but palpitate forever and forever beneath the red eye of the sun with a tumultuous and convulsive motion. For many miles on either side of the river's oozy bed is a pale desert of gigantic water-lilies. They sigh one unto the other in that solitude, and stretch towards the heaven their long ghastly necks, and nod to and fro their everlasting heads. And there is an indistinct murmur which cometh out from among them like the rushing of subterrene water. And they sigh one unto the other. "But there is a boundary to their realm --the boundary of the dark, horrible, lofty forest. There, like the waves about the Hebrides, the low underwood is agitated continually. But there is no wind throughout the heaven. And the tall primeval trees rock eternally hither and thither with a crashing and mighty sound. And from their high summits, one by one, drop everlasting dews. And at the roots strange poisonous flowers lie writhing in perturbed slumber. And overhead, with a rustling and loud noise, the grey clouds rush westwardly forever, until they roll, a cataract, over the fiery wall of the horizon. But there is no wind throughout the heaven. And by the shores of the river Zaire there is neither quiet nor silence. "It was night, and the rain fell; and, falling, it was rain, but, having fallen, it was blood. And I stood in the morass among the tall lilies, and the rain fell upon my head --and the lilies sighed one unto the other in the solemnity of their desolation. "And, all at once, the moon arose through the thin ghastly mist, and was crimson in color. And mine eyes fell upon a huge grey rock which stood by the shore of the river, and was litten by the light of the moon. And the rock was grey, and ghastly, and tall, -- and the rock was grey. Upon its front were characters engraven in the stone; and I walked through the morass of water-lilies, until I came close unto the shore, that I might read the characters upon the stone. But I could not decypher the characters. And I was going back into the morass, when the moon shone with a fuller red, and I turned and looked again upon the rock, and upon the characters --and the characters were DESOLATION. "And I looked upwards, and there stood a man upon the summit of the rock, and I hid myself among the water-lilies that I might discover the actions of the man. And the man was tall and stately in form, and was wrapped up from his shoulders to his feet in the toga of old Rome. And the outlines of his figure were indistinct --but his features were the features of a Deity; for the mantle of the night, and of the mist, and of the moon, and of the dew, had left uncovered the features of his face. And his brow was lofty with thought, and his eye wild with care; and, in the few furrows upon his cheek I read the fables of sorrow, and weariness, and disgust with mankind, and a longing after solitude. And the moon shone upon his face, and upon the features of his face, and oh! they were more beautiful than the airy dreams which hovered about the souls of the daughters of Delos! "And the man sat down upon the rock, and leaned his head upon his hand, and looked out upon the desolation. He looked down into the low unquiet shrubbery, and up into the tall primeval trees, and up higher at the rustling heaven, and into the crimson moon. And I lay close within shelter of the lilies, and observed the actions of the man. And the man trembled in the solitude --but the night waned and he sat upon the rock. "And the man turned his attention from the heaven, and looked out upon the dreary river Zaire, and upon the yellow ghastly waters, and upon the pale legions of the water- lilies. And the man listened to the sighs of the water-lilies, and of the murmur that came up from among them. And I lay close within my covert and observed the actions of the man. And the man trembled in the solitude --but the night waned and he sat upon the rock. "Then I went down into the recesses of the morass, and waded afar in among the wilderness of the lilies, and called unto the hippopotami which dwelt among the fens in the recesses of the morass. And the hippopotami heard my call, and came, with the behemoth, unto the foot of the rock, and roared loudly and fearfully beneath the moon. And I lay close within my covert and observed the actions of the man. And the man trembled in the solitude --but the night waned and he sat upon the rock. "Then I cursed the elements with the curse of tumult; and a frightful tempest gathered in the heaven where before there had been no wind. And the heaven became livid with the violence of the tempest --and the rain beat upon the head of the man --and the floods of the river came down --and the river was tormented into foam --and the water- lilies shrieked within their beds --and the forest crumbled before the wind --and the thunder rolled, --and the lightning fell --and the rock rocked to its foundation. And I lay close within my covert and observed the actions of the man. And the man trembled in the solitude -- but the night waned and he sat upon the rock. "Then I grew angry and cursed, with the curse of silence, the river, and the lilies, and the wind, and the forest, and the heaven, and the thunder, and the sighs of the water- lilies. And they became accursed and were still. And the moon ceased to totter in its pathway up the heaven --and the thunder died away --and the lightning did not flash -- and the clouds hung motionless --and the waters sunk to their level and remained --and the trees ceased to rock --and the water-lilies sighed no more --and the murmur was heard no longer from among them, nor any shadow of sound throughout the vast illimitable desert. And I looked upon the characters of the rock, and they were changed - -and the characters were SILENCE. "And mine eyes fell upon the countenance of the man, and his countenance was wan with terror. And, hurriedly, he raised his head from his hand, and stood forth upon the rock, and listened. But there was no voice throughout the vast illimitable desert, and the characters upon the rock were SILENCE. And the man shuddered, and turned his face away, and fled afar off, and I beheld him no more." Now there are fine tales in the volumes of the Magi --in the iron-bound, melancholy volumes of the Magi. Therein, I say, are glorious histories of the Heaven, and of the Earth, and of the mighty Sea --and of the Genii that over-ruled the sea, and the earth, and the lofty heaven. There was much lore too in the sayings which were said by the sybils; and holy, holy things were heard of old by the dim leaves that trembled around Dodona --but, as Allah liveth, that fable which the Demon told me as he sat by my side in the shadow of the tomb, I hold to be the most wonderful of all! And as the Demon made an end of his story, he fell back within the cavity of the tomb and laughed. And I could not laugh with the Demon, and he cursed me because I could not laugh. And the lynx which dwelleth forever in the tomb, came out therefrom, and lay down at the feet of the Demon, and looked at him steadily in the face. NOTES: This story was originally published in 1838 as "Siope - A Fable". Reference: https://poestories.com/read/silence